Head-To-Head Review: Citizens Financial Services (NASDAQ:CZFS) vs. Orange County Bancorp (NASDAQ:OBT)

Orange County Bancorp (NASDAQ:OBT) and Citizens Financial Services (NASDAQ:CZFS) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, valuation, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations and profitability.

Volatility & Risk

Orange County Bancorp has a beta of 0.42, meaning that its share price is 58% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Citizens Financial Services has a beta of 0.37, meaning that its share price is 63% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

42.5% of Orange County Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 22.5% of Citizens Financial Services shares are owned by institutional investors. 8.2% of Orange County Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 5.5% of Citizens Financial Services shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Orange County Bancorp and Citizens Financial Services, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Orange County Bancorp	0	0	2	2	3.50
Citizens Financial Services	0	1	1	1	3.00

Orange County Bancorp currently has a consensus price target of $43.25, suggesting a potential upside of 17.43%. Given Orange County Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Orange County Bancorp is more favorable than Citizens Financial Services.

Profitability

This table compares Orange County Bancorp and Citizens Financial Services’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Orange County Bancorp	30.80%	16.44%	1.75%
Citizens Financial Services	23.31%	12.06%	1.33%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Orange County Bancorp and Citizens Financial Services”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Orange County Bancorp	$158.13 million	3.12	$41.61 million	$3.55	10.37
Citizens Financial Services	$118.11 million	3.20	$36.57 million	$8.55	9.18

Orange County Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Citizens Financial Services. Citizens Financial Services is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Orange County Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Orange County Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. Citizens Financial Services pays an annual dividend of $2.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Orange County Bancorp pays out 20.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Citizens Financial Services pays out 23.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Summary

Orange County Bancorp beats Citizens Financial Services on 14 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Orange County Bancorp

Orange County Bancorp, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides commercial and consumer banking products and services, and trust and wealth management services to small businesses, middle-market enterprises, local municipal governments, and individuals. It accepts various deposits, including interest-bearing and noninterest-bearing demand accounts, money market deposit accounts, savings accounts, and certificates of deposit. The company also offers commercial real estate loans, commercial and industrial loans, commercial real estate construction loans, residential real estate loans, home equity loans, and consumer loans. In addition, it provides traditional trust and administration, asset management, financial planning, and wealth management services. The company operates full-service branches and loan production office in Orange, Westchester, Rockland, and Bronx counties in New York. Orange County Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 1892 and is headquartered in Middletown, New York.

About Citizens Financial Services

Citizens Financial Services, Inc., a bank holding company, provides various banking products and services for individual, business, governmental, and institutional customers. The company accepts various deposit products, such as checking, savings, and time deposit accounts. Its loan products include residential, commercial, and agricultural real estate loans; commercial and industrial loans; state and political subdivision loans; and consumer loans, as well as various other specialized financial services. The company also provides professional trust administration, investment management services, estate planning and administration, custody of securities, and individual retirement accounts. In addition, it offers brokerage and financial planning services, as well as assistance in various oil and gas leasing matters; and provides mutual funds, annuities, and health and life insurance products. Citizens Financial Services, Inc. was incorporated in 1984 and is headquartered in Mansfield, Pennsylvania.